Yesterday, I mentioned my childhood fondness for Tintin which has now stretched into my adulthood, particularly as a father to my child, who is also a fan. I also mentioned how, despite Tintin's tremendous success in many parts of the world, his popularity in the English-speaking world, perhaps particularly here in the United States, is quite limited.

Today, it seems appropriate to dedicate a blog entry to another fictional character who is far more popular and influential within American culture, although a large part of the inspiration for this character came from Tintin himself, even though this character has achieved far more fame and popularity. Perhaps that is because he himself is American, although that is not necessarily the sole reason.

I am speaking, of course, about Indiana Jones. Almost all Americans seem to know him, and that includes people who are much younger than myself. Of course, I grew up in part on some of these amazing and enduring characters who came to dominate the scene for children of the 1980's, like myself. When I think about it, kids my age were truly blessed. We began the decade with Star Wars and Indiana Jones, then graduated to the Transformers, GI Joe, Voltron, the Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the new and improved Batman, who closed out this amazing decade for kids. There were others who I am probably forgetting, too, as well as those who came before, such as the superheroes of both Marvel and DC comics, as well as Star Trek and others who were likely already beginning to fade, such as the Lone Ranger and Zorro.

Some amazing things that really spiced up any childhood from back then. Add to that WWF wrestling, which somehow was more ridiculous than any of that, yet which somehow seems almost strangely innocent and even quaint compared to entertainment wrestling these days, and you really had a great time to be a kid. Also, certain sports, particularly NFL American football and NBA basketball, were either at their peak or reaching their peak.

In short, it was a time that appealed to a childish imagination!

Anyway, Indiana Jones was introduced to the world in 1982, with the release of "The Raiders of the Lost Ark". This was a brilliant movie that was immediately popular, and which seemed to have a profound effect on society. Jones was played by Harrison Ford, who came to be an American institution and icon himself. Ford was able to capably breathe life to Indiana Jones, and the character appealed to many different people for different reasons. He was scholarly, yet not boring by any stretch. He was not a typical, nerdy bookworm, but an action and adventure kind of guy, and women obviously found him sexy. He represented the very best that the United States offered - he was exciting in an unrefined kind of way, yet he also exuded dignity and serious intellect. He just kind of had a way about him, and his charisma was evident throughout. Also, he was very funny, and the rather over the top adventures and situations which he found himself in provided considerable entertainment, and appealed to his fans in endless ways. On many levels, I know people today, my age and even older, who seem to be bigger fans of Indiana Jones than they were back during their childhood, and that includes me, admittedly! In short, as the saying goes, he was the kind of guy that women wanted to be with, and men wanted to be. That largely still rings true, even after all of these years that have since passed.

Yes, Indiana Jones has become an enduring figure, although it is almost hard to fathom that only three movies came out with his adventures during the peak of his popularity during those days, much like Star Wars. However, much like Star Wars, his adventures did not stop there. There were toys, of course. But there was also a comic book line (Marvel), and there was a television series, Young Indiana Jones, which came from these original movies, and this character's incredibly successful image.

There were also some novels, some of which I have read. And, of course, in 2008, there was a new movie installation. There is also a new Indiana Jones movie planned to come out in 2019, although there still appears to be some ambiguity about whether or not Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones will be in that one and, if so, if he will be the main character, or if instead, he will be sort of passing on the baton to the next generation of that model of hero.

We shall see, of course.

In the meantime, here is a link to some little known facts about Indiana Jones: